Exhibit in Oklahoma!

reception at the Leslie Powell Foundation Gallery, January 10, 2009

I can't believe I forgot to post this!

My solo exhibit, Seeking Shelter, is on display at the Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery in Lawton Oklahoma until February 28, 2009.

It's probably the last time I'll exhibit this work all together in this form. I still want to continue this series, but I don't know that I'll actively pursue exhibitions with it any more. It's already been in several venues across the country - Kansas, Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, and 2 venues in Oklahoma.

As you can see from the first photo, I installed a miniature version of my hanging spiral tornado. The full version includes almost 200 small tornadoes. This one only has about 30.

If you're near Lawton, please stop by and check it out!

Different Media

I wrote recently about trying to figure out how to handle marketing different bodies of work. But now I'm facing a different problem: working in different media.

I used to paint only in acrylic, and I played around with layering colors and trying to achieve transparency. But when I discovered encaustic, it seemed to solve all my problems. I could embed objects, collage materials, write words, scrape, scratch, layer... So I've worked almost exclusively in that medium for almost four years.

But when I started on this new body of work (the Palimpsest series), I wanted to explore the ideas in different media, as I had done with the Seeking Shelter series. That particular series came out of all of the work that I did in grad school. I spent the whole time working through ideas and media, and Seeking Shelter is the culmination of all of that work, and it just happens to be created in encaustic.

I know Joanne Mattera has written about not wanting to be labeled an "encaustic artist," and I can understand and respect that. About not being defined by your medium. And it's never bothered me if someone called me an encaustic artist. [I don't care what you call me, just call me, right?]

But I'm afraid now that I've pigeon-holed myself. I've created a few new pieces in the Palimpsest series that are not encaustic. I've been experimenting with acrylic, oil, and pastel. I think all of the pieces go together as one body of work and I don't think acrylic pieces would look out of place next to encaustic pieces as long as they seem cohesive in style, subject matter, etc. But when I was talking with a gallery owner about sending work to him, he seemed hesitant about me sending the non-encaustic pieces. He said I have become "known for" encaustic.

I'm going to send them anyway and see what happens.

So I'm curious. How do you handle working in different media? Or introducing work created in a new medium? Have you had the experience of being labeled as a particular kind of artist or expected to only work in a certain medium?

TexasWAX Opening Night

l to r: Kate Miller (with back to camera), Joanne Mattera, Cheryl McClure, Carolyn Fox-Hearne (with back to camera), Janet Reynolds

Our opening reception on Friday, February 22, was a great success! The people at CAMP really did it up nicely for us. They were extremely gracious and they put on a great spread. One really great touch was the video camera "hidden" in the main gallery space. It was streaming live video that was projected in another room (and someone said it was streaming on the internet, too, but I'm not sure about that).

We were extremely excited that several high-profile people from the "encaustic world" stopped by, including Joanne Mattera, author of The Art of Encaustic Painting; Richard Frumess of R&F Paints, and Kathryn Bevier of Enkaustikos Wax Art Supplies.

The show is up until March 16, so if you haven't seen it yet, please stop by and check it out!

Collaborating Artists Media Project
2631 Commerce St. Suite B, Dallas, TX 75226
Gallery hours M-F, 9 am - 5 pm

Here are some more photos from the opening:

Carolyn Fox-Hearne

Deanna Wood

Gwen Plunkett, Kate Miller, Franziska Bader

Diane reader Dorn

Trayc Claybrook

Diane reader Dorn and Carolyn Fox-Hearne

The Birth of TexasWAX

Back in the fall, I received an email from Gwen Plunkett, an artist from Houston who uses encaustic. She invited me to join her newly formed encaustic group in Houston. She said that they were considering becoming a chapter of IEA but weren't sure.

I was excited about the prospect of a Texas-based encaustic group. I had intended to start one but just hadn't gotten my act together enough to do it. Gwen's email finally got me going. We decided to create one Texas group with separate groups in the larger cities, starting with Dallas and Houston.

Gwen mentioned that she's going to be in Dallas for the annual CAA conference and perhaps we could get together. There are some encaustic-related things going on in conjunction with the event. We decided that we would try to find a place to have a group encaustic show in the vicinity of the conference.

So I emailed all of the artists who had taken my workshops over the years and invited them to help form our encaustic group.

We met this past Saturday at the home and studio of Janet Reynolds. There were nine of us: Deanna Wood, Pedrameh Manoochehri, Darlyne Hartman, Kathy Lovas, Susan Sponsler Carstarphen, Silvia Thornton, Janet Reynolds, Junanne Peck, and Trayc Claybrook.

There are several others who are part of the group but weren't able to make the meeting:
Vidya Kagal, Charlotte Cornett, Cheryl McClure, Robin Walker, and Fran Strebel.

We came up with the name - TexasWAX/Dallas - talked about the focus of the group, affiliations, etc. We're currently looking for exhibition space for a joint Dallas/Houston show during CAA.

I'm very excited about the group - it's a diverse, talented, supportive and encouraging group of artists.

You can keep up with our progress on our blogs:
TexasWAX/Dallas
TexasWAX/Houston

We're looking for artists who use encaustic in San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, etc...

I'm off, again...

Installation view, Seeking Shelter

Tomorrow morning (way too early), I'm going to be heading out to Douglasville, Georgia (outside Atlanta). My aunt and cousins live there (and my mom was born there). When my aunt was visiting here a year ago or so, she mentioned that there was an art center in Douglasville and I should send them a proposal. I did and they offered me a show!

It'll be fun to see my aunt and cousins and all the cousins' kids. We're hoping to visit the aquarium in Atlanta, too. I'm hauling my work out there and will help install it a few days before the opening on Sunday.

If you're in the area, please stop by!

The Tornado Show: Seeking Shelter
Multi-media installation by Deanna Wood
Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville
Douglasville, Georgia

July 8 - August 17, 2007

Opening reception and ice cream social
Sunday, July 8
2 - 4 pm

For more information, call 770-949-ARTS

Beyond the Scrapbook

Alison Hahn - Burned (detail) - altered book

Tarrant County College
The Art Corridor II
Southeast Campus, Arlington, Texas

May 7 - June 15, 2007

Reception
Monday, June 4, 4:30 - 6:30 pm

Artist's books by Joy Christiansen, Brett Dyer, Hannah Frieser, Allison Gillies, Danielle Grove, Alison Hahn, Jana Perez, and Deanna Wood

Curated by Deanna Wood

With the popularity of scrapbooking, it is apparent that people are motivated to present their family memories in an aesthetically pleasing way. Beyond the Scrapbook shows how artists utilize the book form to present their family memories in a way that transcends the traditional forms and materials generally associated with family scrapbooks; essentially creating works of art from painful, joyous, or mundane events and stories remembered from their childhoods.

These artists sometimes use standard, traditional scrapbook materials but also introduce new materials and methods such as photocopies, solvent transfer, photo manipulation, and non-traditional bindings.

In “Soap or Being Raised on Avon,” Hannah Frieser takes a comical look at the hazards of getting caught using bad language. Frieser created a book that tells the story of having her mouth washed out with soap. The book is nestled in a box that contains sweet-smelling handmade soap embossed with the offending words.

In her book titled, “Mom’s Lunches,” Alison Hahn lovingly pays tribute to her mother. The book is “inspired by the memories of the lunches my mother packed for me and my brothers and sisters growing up.”

Clearly coming from a different childhood experience, Jana Perez created “i am not crazy,” an artists book of Xeroxed photography which deals with her mother's battle with depression and the artist’s response to it both as a child and as an adult.


Deanna Wood celebrates the fun and freedom of childhood with her book titled, “At the Park.” She photographed her son playing and swinging at a park. The artist created an accordion book that hangs from chain on a metal structure that mimics a swing set.

These and the other artists featured in Beyond the Scrapbook have each presented their family histories in very different ways. Some celebrate their past while others delve into the dark side of family memories. But each has used the medium of book arts to preserve the past and create a work of art that transcends the traditional scrapbook.

A viewer can touch and feel these books - the texture of the paper, the weight of the book in his hands, the smell of the contents, and the interactive nature of turning the pages. Artist’s books beckon the observer to become a participant in the art as she immerses herself in the artist’s lives in an intimate way that is unlike any other art viewing experience.

See installation shots here.

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Gallery hours:
Mon-Thu 8 am - 9 pm
Friday 8 am - 5 pm
Saturday 9 am - 3 pm

For more information, contact Devon Nowlin at 817-515-3406.

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I'd like to say a special thanks to Devon for doing such a great job with installation and marketing!